Bangalore: Lawyers assault mediapersons

Udupi Today Media Network

Bangalore, 02 March 2012: A group of lawyers in Bangalore Friday assaulted mediapersons, including women, who had gathered to report on mining baron and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy's court appearance in connection with an illegal mining case.

A TV cameraman of a Kannada channel was injured in the head while several other mediapersons suffered blows as lawyers pounced on them when they were coming out of the court of additional civil and sessions judge B.M. Angadi where Reddy appeared.

An OB van of a Kannada channel and several cars were damaged when stones were hurled at them. It was not clear whether the stone missiles were from the lawyers or from the onlookers at the court premises which is usually crowded. With Reddy being brought there, a group of his supporters had also gathered at the complex. Police resorted to a cane charge and lobbed teargas shells as stones were also thrown at them.

The assault was apparently in protest against media coverage of a lawyers' agitation in Bangalore in January which had led to a massive traffic gridlock in the central business district for over seven hours. The lawyers had blocked one of the main avenues in the city centre protesting the police assault on a colleague.

Protesting the lawyers' attack on them, mediapersons Friday staged a sit-in at the court premises demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Bangalore city police commissioner B.G. Jyothiprakash Mirji arrived at the spot to pacify angry mediapersons.

Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who was attending a function several km away, told reporters that he has not been informed of the incident and would take it up with Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar.

The January agitation of lawyers had come in for severe criticism from people as well Governor H.R. Bhardwaj, a former union law minister.

- IANS

Action will be taken against lawyers who attacked scribes: CM

Bangalore, 02 March 2012: Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananada Gowda today assured journalists that stern action would be taken against lawyers who attacked mediapersons and police personnel at the city civil court complex. The Chief Minister said he has directed the police to submit by evening a report on the incident.

"We will come out with a concrete decision after going through the report, which is expected by today evening, to put an end to such kind of incidents taking place on court premises," he told a delegation of mediapersons at his official residence, Krishna, here.

To a demand that the guilty should be penalised and arrested, Gowda said the state government would take stern action on issues which came under its jurisdiction.

He, however, said government would hold a meeting with Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen and High Court Registrar General today to find ways to put an end to unruly behaviour of lawyers at court premises.

On mediapersons' demand to debar those involved in the attack from the Karnataka Bar Council, Gowda said: "For this, we are meeting the Chief Justice and the Registrar General...".